A full-service wholesaler, Viale et Dumay offers a wide range of fruit and vegetables, which it sells to local authorities, greengrocers, supermarkets, and on-site three days a week. Located in Châteauneuf-sur-Isère, the marketer is facing a fairly quiet market. The lackluster demand has had an even greater impact on products that are highly climate-dependent. This is the case for melons: "We had a few sales of Moroccan origin. The Spanish campaign was not a success either, with little supply and little demand". This was due to the bad weather that has been affecting France for several months now.
The same applies to the French melon campaign, which began three weeks ago. "The first melons we've received are from the south of France. It's been a difficult start to the campaign, with rain every weekend, meaning people don't want to consume this product. Production has also been badly affected by the hazards of the weather, such as last weekend's hailstorms in the region, which impacted the melon fields. However, given the weather, we're satisfied with the quality of the melons that we have harvested".
Another factor often blamed for limiting consumption is the current economic and political situation. "We feel that people are holding back and not enjoying themselves. They don't feel like spending money to eat properly. So we're now selling a little bit of everything: melon, watermelon, apricots, and other stone fruits, but in small quantities".
For more information:
Philippe Dumay
Viale et Dumay
[email protected]